Toasting Up Some Artsy Fun for a Good Cause - The Bread Art Project

Like to play with your food? We do! Thanks to the internet, Share Our Strength and the Grain Foods Foundation, now you can play with your food AND help a great cause.

The non-profit Grain Foods Foundation created The Bread Art Project in 2009 to help create awareness of the growing hunger problem in our country. Last year alone, visitors to the site created more than 25,000 pieces of Bread Art; they’re hoping to reach their goal of 50,000 this year! For each piece of art created and posted, the Grain Foods Foundation will donate $1 to Share Our Strength. Get this - $1 can help provide THREE nutritious meals to a hungry child. Pretty amazing!

We had the pleasure of heading over to the Atlanta Community Food Bank this morning for a special presentation by Next Food Network Star Melissa d’Arabian, who filled us in about how the website can help fight hunger with your whole grain artworks.

She also shared some very fun ways to incorporate whole grain foods into your family’s diet with some easy, affordable recipes. Lucky for us some of these treats were there for us to try for ourselves! We’ve posted a recipe for one of her easy and yummy sandwiches that we tried below.

Feeling ready to get toasty yourself? Head over to The Bread Art Project, click Workshops and get creative! They’re up to 46,000 already, so let’s help them reach their goal of 50,000 pieces of toast and $50,000 for Share Our Strength!

Crispy Ham, Tomato and Mozzarella Sandwich
Recipe developed by Melissa d’Arabian for the Grain Foods Foundation
2 T olive oil plus 1 teaspoon, divided
1 t dried basil
1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed
4 thin slices ham
4 slices sandwich bread
4 slices mozzarella cheese
½ tomato, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper

In a small bowl, mix 2 T of the olive oil, basil, smashed garlic clove and salt and pepper with a
fork to release flavors and let sit while preparing the rest of the sandwich (at least five minutes).
In a small sauté pan, cook the ham in a teaspoon of olive oil over medium heat 2-3 minutes per
side, or until beginning to crisp. Toast the bread. Lay the cheese on one slice of the toast and
brush generously with the flavored olive oil, using a pastry brush. Add the ham, and top with
tomatoes. Brush the tomatoes with the olive oil, and top with the second piece of toast. Repeat
for the second sandwich.
Yield: 2 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Ease of preparation: Easy